At Their Mercy
by Kathryn Sparrow
Summary: A person is never truly in control of their own lifes. Harry has always thought he understood that, but this is when he realizes that he is truly at their mercy. AU, Sirius and Dumbledore are alive. Ch3 Added.
1. Chapter 1

At Their Mercy

"Harry, did you hear? There's a new girl joining our year." Neville Longbottom managed to say as he all but fell into the compartment Harry was in, waiting for Ron, Hermione and Ginny to return from their Prefects meeting.

"No, I didn't. Is she a transfer student?" Harry sat up a little straighter, interested in this development.

"I don't know. I just caught a glimpse of her sitting in a compartment with Malfoy and the other Slytherins." Neville sat down across from Harry, cradling his pet toad in his hands.

Before Harry could respond Hermione and Ron entered the compartment. They were obviously in the middle of an argument as Hermione was currently saying in a heated voice, "Ron, I know what I'm doing. I'm not just assigning people to random shifts, it's perfectly organized and logical."

"Putting me on watch with Malfoy is not logical! One of us is going to end up killing each other." Ron sat down heavily in the seat across from Harry.

"Ron, he's Head Boy. He's not going to risk getting in trouble by hexing you." Hermione turned away from Ron, making it clear that the conversation was over. "Harry, Ginny has first patrol, she should be in here any minute." Harry nodded and Hermione continued. "Did you hear that there's a new girl in our year?"

"Yeah, Neville mentioned it."

"Well, she's supposedly been at a school in America, but I don't believe it for a second. I saw her before we got on the train. She came to the station with the Malfoys." Hermione said as she pulled a book out of her bag.

"Well, I'm sure there are schools like Durmstrang in America." Harry said half to himself.

"I've heard Dad talk about the schools in America. Supposedly there are Magic schools in every state." Ron said, opening Pig's cage to let him fly around a little bit, and he promptly flew straight into the window.

Harry shook his head, laughed, and said, "Well if she's hanging out with Malfoy, you know she's got to be trouble. What's her name, anyway?"

"I don't know." Hermione said thoughtfully from behind her book, looking up for a second, and then shook her head and looked down.

"Has Hogwarts ever taken anyone at the start of seventh year before?" Harry asked.

"Only in extreme circumstances, and only when the Headmaster thinks it's absolutely necessary. There have only been two people before who have been allowed to transfer but never before in their seventh year. That's what I read in _Hogwarts, A History_." Hermione said, looking up from her book for a moment.

"Of course you did." Ron said quietly in a mocking tone and Hermione glared at him but then looked back down at her book.

Harry rolled his eyes at his two friends and looked out the window, thinking to himself. After Voldemort had been relatively quiet the two years following the Triwizard Tournament and his return to full power, Harry knew it couldn't possibly last much longer. He had a feeling that this year, his last year at Hogwarts, would contain much more dangerous things than he had ever faced in his life.

The compartment door opened and Ginny Weasley came bursting into the room. She looked around, and not seeing any other seats, she sat down next to Harry.

Harry leaned over to kiss her, but she quickly turned her face so all he got was her cheek. Harry suppressed his frown, and settled with putting his arm around her. Ginny stiffened but didn't move away.

Harry and Ginny had been together since the middle of Harry's sixth year. Over the summer while he had been staying at the burrow Harry and Ginny had gotten very close, but after a certain incident Ginny had become very distant towards him. Harry had at first shrugged it off, thinking it might have to do with the presence of her brothers at the Burrow. But now that they were back at Hogwarts and her behavior hadn't changed, he knew he would have to talk to her about it.

"I caught a glimpse of the new girl." Ginny said, helping herself to a chocolate frog from Ron's pile.

"Is she still with Malfoy?" Ron asked with a scowl.

"Yep. Don't know why though. She's much too good looking for the likes of him." Hermione laughed and Ginny smiled.

"Don't complain Ginny, you're not the one who has to share a common room with him."

"Wait, you have to share a common room with him Hermione?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Yes, I told you that when I found out I was Head Girl, Ron." Hermione answered sharply.

"I think you failed to mention that." Ron sank down into his seat and scowled, but Hermione ignored him.

Harry looked over at Ginny, who was looking everywhere but at him. He pulled her closer to him.

"What, Harry?" Ginny asked in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Fine. I won't touch you then." Harry retorted pulling away from her and sat against the window, refusing to look at her. He felt her move away from him and heard her start a conversation with Neville.

So far his year wasn't off to such a great start.

Draco Malfoy smiled smugly to himself. He had everything he could possibly want. He was Head Boy, his father had bought the Slytherin Quidditch team new brooms to celebrate, and his childhood best friend, Elizabeth Riddle, was going to be going to school with him.

When he had barely been one, she had come to live with him. Draco wasn't sure of the circumstances surrounding her sudden appearance in his life, all he knew was that she was to be raised by his family. They had grown up as siblings would. His parents had spoiled her just as they had spoiled him.

When his Hogwarts letter had arrived, he was surprised to see that she hadn't received one. His father has explained to him that her parents had wanted her to go to a school in America, not Hogwarts. Before and after that, his parents had never mentioned anyone in her family; whenever Draco had brought it up, they expertly changed the subject.

He looked over at her, and was once again filled with happiness, or as close as a Malfoy could possibly get. She was currently in a "deep" conversation with Pansy Parkinson, a polite smile on her face, but Draco could tell she was masking her boredom.

Even though he hadn't seen her in five years, he wasn't surprised to see that he could still read her perfectly. She used the same tricks that he used to conceal his emotions, after all they had invented the emotionless stare. She was the only person that he was ever truly himself around. She was the only one that had ever seen him cry, really the only one who had ever seen a true emotion from him.

"Take a picture, it lasts longer." Draco started, he hadn't realized he'd been staring directly at her.

"Sorry, love." Pansy gave Draco a suspicious look, and he sneered at her and looked out the window.

"Elizabeth," Pansy whispered once she was sure Draco wasn't listening.

"Yes, Pansy?" Elizabeth smiled politely at her.

"Are you and Draco… you know… together?" Elizabeth laughed and Pansy looked hurt.

"No, Pansy. He's like my brother. There's nothing else between us." 

Pansy looked relieved. "Ok. Thanks for clearing that up."

Elizabeth smiled, "no problem," and moved to sit next to Draco.

Draco smiled down at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Excited?"

"Not really," Elizabeth said indifferently.

"I'm insulted." Draco feigned hurt. "I would have thought you'd be terribly excited to spend time with me, your childhood best friend."

"Oh, Draco, you know it's wonderful being with you again, it's just… I want to know why I'm back." Elizabeth looked away from him.

"My father didn't tell you?" Draco asked.

"No. He didn't. He just said that he had orders from my family that I come back and finish schooling at Hogwarts. He didn't say if this was a new development of if he'd always known it. I wish that I had known before though. It was hard leaving my friends so suddenly."

Draco didn't look at her. The truth was, he also wasn't aware of why she was back. Elizabeth had been sitting at his dinner table when he had returned from school in June. His parents had explained she'd be going to Hogwarts the next year and staying with them until then. It had been made clear that he wasn't to ask questions. And he was just happy he was finally with her again.

"I see. Well, Bess, _I'm_ glad you're here with me, even if you aren't. I know it will be terribly hard not being with your friends, but you'll be sure to make new ones here."

Elizabeth looked up at him, a grateful look on her face. "Thanks Draco. You always know what to say."

Draco smiled and kissed her on the forehead. He didn't notice the evil look Pansy was shooting at Elizabeth.

Harry was walking back from the toilets when he ran head long into someone.

"I'm sorry!"

"Sorry!"

Harry's reflexive instinct was to reach out and catch the girl before she fell to the ground. He caught her, his face inches away from hers. He couldn't help but be drawn in by her crystal blue eyes. Her complexion was lightly bronze, and her long blonde hair was hanging free around her shoulders. He noticed that her face was rather ordinary, but those eyes…

"I'm sorry. I'm so clumsy sometimes!" She said after a second, extracting herself from his grasp and straightening up.

"No, no it was my fault. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Harry said, snapping out of the daze.

"Well, I guess it's established we were both at fault here." She said lightly, looking up at him. He then noticed her American accent. And holding her hand out to him she said, "I'm Elizabeth."

"I'm Harry." He imitated her lack of surname use. "You must be the new student from America."

"Has it already gotten around the train that I'm here?" She said laughing slightly.

"Oh, I don't think so. I just know because my best friend is Head Girl and my other best friend is a Prefect and so is my girlfriend." Harry rambled. For some reason he was incredibly nervous around this girl.

"I see." She smiled, and her eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Yeah." An awkward silence followed and Harry broke it by stuttering, "Where did you live in America?"

"In North Carolina. I went to wizarding school there, and lived with a host family during the summers. Before that though I lived in England."

"I see. I've always lived here." Harry mentally slapped himself, annoyed at his stupid comments.

"Potter." A voice sneered form behind him and he turned to look through an open compartment door and saw Malfoy standing there.

"Malfoy." Harry said just as rudely.

"We're not even to Hogwarts yet and you're already embarrassing yourself?"

"Don't you have some sort of Head Boy duties to attend to, Malfoy?" Harry returned with just as much venom in his voice as was in Malfoy's.

"Oh, yes, so you've heard. I have finally beaten you in one thing Potter. I suppose your little mudblood friend has already told you how much power I now hold over you." 

"Draco! Stop it." Elizabeth cut in, stepping between the boys and facing Malfoy. "Stop creating problems."

"What were you doing out here with him?"

"Having a conversation. Why does it matter to you?"

Malfoy scoffed and glared at Harry over her shoulder. "Potter having an intelligent conversation? I didn't know that was possible."

Before Harry could say anything, Elizabeth retorted, "Yes, it is quite possible Draco. Now stop being rude and go back into the compartment."

Draco scowled at her and glared at Harry over his shoulder, and gave him a look that clearly said this wasn't over.

Elizabeth shut the door after Draco and turned to Harry. "I see you and Draco don't get along." 

"You could say that." Harry said coldly.

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't group me into his category. I'm not sure why he doesn't like you, and actually, I really don't care. I am here to make friends, not enemies. I'd appreciate it if you didn't look at me the same you look at him." She held her hand out to Harry for him to shake. "Friends?"

Harry hesitated a moment, but then reached out and took it, smiling. "Friends."

She smiled back at him and turned and slid open the door to the compartment Draco had entered only a few moments before. "I'll see you later Harry."

The door closed behind her but Harry stayed where he was, staring at it. He wasn't sure why, but he knew that this girl was different than Malfoy. He wasn't exactly sure what gave him this feeling but he could tell she meant it when she had asked to be friends.

He finally turned and walked a few doors down and opened the doors to the compartment that he and the others had been sharing. He was happy to see that the only person left in the room was Ginny. She had her back turned to him, her head bent over the latest edition of "The Quibbler".

"Hey." He sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair.

She stiffened slightly. "Hi."

Harry sighed and pulled away from her. "Ginny, what's wrong?"

"I don't know what you mean Harry." She looked back down at the magazine.

"You know exactly what I mean. You've been cold and distant, and pretty much ignoring me since—"

Ginny interrupted him, "I really don't want to talk about this right now Harry."

"Well then, when the bloody hell do you want to talk about it?"

She finally turned to face him. "There is nothing to talk about, Harry. We made a mistake."

Harry felt like had been slapped across the face. "A mistake?" He whispered.

"Yes. A mistake." She said firmly. "A mistake I don't intend on making again."

"Are you breaking up with me, Ginny?" Harry asked breathlessly.

"No. I just don't think we should be all… touchy feely like we were before. That's what led us to do what we did."

"So you want us to act as friends do, then?"

"No. A hug and a kiss every once in while won't lead to anything…"

"Friends is exactly what you are implying Ginny." Harry felt a sense of anger refueling him, readying him for the argument.

"I can't have this conversation right now."

"You bloody well will have this conversation right now."

"Don't raise your voice at me." She said coldly.

"Don't treat me like one of your other boyfriends. You can't throw me aside like you did all of them!"

Before he could continue, the compartment door opened and Ron stormed in. "That Malfoy is such an arse."

Harry didn't look away from Ginny. Ginny broke the eye contact and looked at Ron. "What did he do this time?"

"He didn't do anything except be his own rude self." Ron looked between the two for a moment. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No. We were just finished." Ginny said coldly, not looking back at Harry.

"I met the new girl." Harry said after a slight pause.

Ron sat up a little straighter. "Yeah? What's she like?"

"She's pretty." Harry looked at Ginny out of the corner of his eye, gauging her reaction. Her expression didn't change. She looked down at "The Quibbler", making it clear she was not a part of this conversation.

"What's her name?" Ron asked.

"Elizabeth. She didn't give me a surname though. She said she didn't want to be grouped into the same category as Malfoy."

"Well, she already ruined any chance of that by being with him right now," Ron said, rolling his eyes. "But what do you suppose she meant by that?"

"She said she wanted to be friends." Harry said. "She's quite nice."

"If you say so, Harry." Ron said, turning and saying something to his sister.

Harry tuned out their conversation, choosing instead to look out the window. He was still upset about his argument with Ginny, and couldn't help but think that they may well be nearing the end of their relationship. He was upset, but also frustrated. If she thought what had happened was a mistake, he wasn't sure he wanted to be with her any longer.

"We're almost there. I'd consider putting your school robes on." While Harry had been brooding, Hermione had entered the compartment. Harry registered what he was seeing outside the window, and realized that night had indeed fallen and they were approaching the school.

"Elizabeth, what were you doing talking to him?" Pansy Parkinson asked as Elizabeth entered the compartment and sat down.

"I didn't know that talking to a person was a crime." Elizabeth said coldly.

"Well, talking to Potter is one." Draco said rudely from beside her.

"I don't know what you have against him, Draco. He seemed nice enough to me." Elizabeth said, turning to look at him.

"He's a stuck up arrogant fool." Draco sneered.

Elizabeth held back a laugh, "He's the arrogant fool?"

"Elizabeth, he uses his fame to get what he wants."

"His fame?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes his fame. He's Harry Potter. The 'Boy Who Lived'?" Pansy added at the blank expression on Elizabeth's face.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Do remember that I have lived in America the past six years."

"Oh, this happened sixteen years ago. Surely you know who he is." Pansy said, looking at Elizabeth as if she were an incredibly ignorant child.

"Surely I don't." Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at Pansy. "Surely you could explain to me who he is, as I obviously don't know what you're talking about. And not because of any arrogance, just that a boy called Harry Potter is not famous in America."

Draco smiled at the terrified expression on Pansy's face. She had just been made an enemy with an incredibly powerful witch. She would regret it. "He is the only person to have ever survived the Killing Curse. He also defeated the Dark Lord when he was merely an infant." Draco explained, sneering.

"I see. But why is he famous?" Elizabeth looked at Draco with an innocent look on her face.

He laughed and wrapped his arm around her, once again ignoring Pansy's scowl. "Bess, my love, your view is quite refreshing. I look forward to having you with me this year."

Elizabeth smiled up at him. "I obviously have a lot to learn."


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

Harry entered the Great Hall, and held back his frustration when Ginny walked away from them to sit with her friends.

"Have you had a row?" Hermione said quietly to Harry, making sure Ron couldn't hear what they were saying.

"A big one." Harry didn't say more and Hermione nodded in understanding.

"She's upset about what happened."

Harry looked at her incredulously at her. "She told you what happened?" 

"Harry, you forget that Ginny and I are friends. She didn't tell me exactly what happened, but I think I have an idea. Personally I think she's being extremely difficult. I don't see anything that you did wrong." Hermione said, sitting down between Harry and Ron.

It felt good to hear that from someone else. "Thanks." 

"But mind you I am not taking sides." Hermione said in a harsh voice.

Harry held back a laugh and nodded at her. Silence fell over the Great Hall as the first years entered, all looking terrified as they walked between the tables behind McGonogall, who was carrying the sorting hat on its usual stool.

The sorting went as it usually did, Gryffindor receiving the usual amount of First Years, Ron muttering about how they got smaller every year.

After all the first years had been sorted, Professor Dumbledoor stood up. "We have a new student joining our seventh year students this year. She is transferring from a school in America. I know that our students will make her transition to Europe a very smooth one. She will now be sorted." The doors opened once again, and Harry saw Elizabeth walk through the doors. "Elizabeth Riddle, welcome."

Hermione, Ron, Harry all gasped at the name. Harry could see out of the corner of his eyes that Ginny had paled visibly.

Hermione looked at Harry pointedly, and Ron elbowed Harry in the ribs. "Riddle?!" She asked in a loud whisper.

"Shh!" Hermione said as Elizabeth walked up to the front of the hall.

Elizabeth promptly sat down on the stool and McGonogall placed the hat on her head.

"No doubt about what house she'll be in with a father like that." Ron said and Hermione hit him on the shoulder, hard. "Ow!" 

"SLYTHERIN!" The sorting hat yelled. The Slytherin table erupted in cheers and Elizabeth stood up, her face emotionless. She walked to the Slytherin table and sat down in an open seat next to Malfoy. Harry felt his stomach twist as he watched Malfoy wrap his arm around her and place his lips against her temple. Harry looked away, confused at his own reaction to the two Slytherin's affection towards each other.

"Thank you. Now tuck in!" Dumbledore waved his hands and food appeared in front of them.

The Great Hall erupted in noise as everyone began eating.

"Riddle!?" Hermione said loudly, first making sure that no one was listening. "Do you think she's related to Voldemort then?"

"Well, how many Riddle's do you know? And what are the chances of her being in Slytherin if she isn't related to him?" Ron said. Harry was surprised that he hadn't yet filled his plate.

"And it would make sense, her being with the Malfoy's and everything." Harry said thoughtfully. "I didn't get a bad feeling from her when I met her today on the train."

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything." Hermione said.

"Yeah, but if she was related to Voldemort, I'm sure my scar would have hurt. I mean, I did run straight into her, that would have triggered something."

"Well, didn't you say that Voldemort could touch you?" Hermione asked.

"But it hurt me, not really him." Harry placed a piece of meat on his plate, and picked up his fork to begin eating.

"Well, Harry, I'm still not convinced it means anything. She could easily be evil and just able to hide it well." Hermione said stubbornly.

"Yeah, mate, Hermione's right." Harry looked incredulously at Ron, surprised that he was taking Hermione's side in the matter.

"Why is it, that every year you lot doubt me, when every year, I prove to you that I've been right all along?" Harry said sharply. He turned away and began a conversation with Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas. He ignored the shocked looks from Hermione and Ron, and proceeded to ignore them the rest of the way through dinner.

Across the hall, Elizabeth wasn't having much more luck with the Slytherins. Either they looked at her with fear in their eyes, and ignored her, or they praised her and lavished her with compliments.

"Your robes are beautiful."

"Your hair is such a pretty color. What type of glamour charm do you use?" 

"Any boyfriends back home?" 

Elizabeth turned to Draco, an exasperated expression on her face. He shrugged, also unsure of why she was receiving this type of attention.

Once the food was cleared and Dumbledore had said his opening remarks, once again welcoming Elizabeth to the school, Elizabeth rose with Draco and she walked with him to the Slytherin dorms.

After Draco had shown her to the staircase that led to her rooms, he turned to leave the Common Room to find his own private rooms.

He stopped and turned to her. "Do you want to come and sit with me for a while?" he said softly.

Elizabeth smiled, "I'd like that very much." She took his hand and followed him to his rooms.

They walked through the winding halls, and deeper into the dungeons. Draco stopped suddenly and turned to stare at an empty wall. 

"Draco…" Elizabeth started, but Draco tapped his wand against the stones in a strange pattern, muttered "childhood friends" and stepped into the room.

Elizabeth couldn't contain her gasp. The room was twice as large as the dormitory she was to share with three other girls, and was decorated in the Slytherin colors. There was a king size four poster bed in the center of the room, with gold and silver curtains, to the side of that a large desk. Across from the bed there was a large fire place with sofas and chairs circled around it; Draco's own private sitting room. Behind the desk, there were book shelves upon book shelves. Elizabeth skimmed her eyes over the titles, and recognized most of them as Draco's personal collection he had at home. 

"Not mine, just some of the same books that I have at home." Draco said, as if reading her thoughts. "The door to the Common Room that I'll share with Granger is through there," he pointed towards a door Elizabeth hadn't previously noticed. "And that's where most of the Prefects' meetings will be held. You need a password to get into here from there." Just then there was a knock on the particular door that they were speaking of. "Bugger." Draco muttered and moved to open the door.

Hermione Granger stood there, with a stack of three or four books in her arms, and a piece of parchment in her hands. "I have the finalized patrol schedule. I placed you with a Ravenclaw that I know you get along with, so I hope there aren't any further problems." She looked over his shoulder and saw Elizabeth standing in the middle of the room. "Oh, hello," Hermione turned and set the books down on the table, walking into Draco's room. Elizabeth noticed the dark look flash across his features at her uninvited entrance into his private quarters.

"I'm Hermione Granger, and you must be Elizabeth Riddle." Hermione said politely, extending her hand for Elizabeth to shake.

"Yes, I've heard a lot about you, Hermione. It's nice to meet you." Elizabeth said with a genuine smile.

Hermione smiled also. "Well, it's rather late, and as much as I'd rather stay and chat, I really must get sleep. Classes do start tomorrow after all." Hermione said rather awkwardly, obviously having realized she was in Draco Malfoy's room, where a girl was standing next to his bed.

"All right, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yes Granger, please, get out of my room." Draco said from where he was still standing at the door. 

Hermione walked through and he slammed it behind her. "Filthy mud-" 

"Don't say it! You know how I hate that word." Elizabeth interrupted him.

Draco looked sheepish. "Sorry. She just infuriates me." He turned to glare at the door.

"Infuriates you, or makes you horny?" Elizabeth laughed at his shocked expression. "I know you better than you think I do, Draco Malfoy."

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about! I'd die before touching her! She is after all Potter's wonder girl!"

"Draco, stop it. Come and sit with me." Elizabeth sat down on the bed and Draco sat down next to her.

"What's wrong?" He asked after a few moments.

"I think you know." She laid back on the bed and he laid down next to her, resting on his side and looking at her. "Why did they look at me like that? They obviously know something we don't." Elizabeth was silent for a moment then looked at him with wide eyes. "Do you know something I don't?"

"Of course I don't! Everything I know I've told you!" Draco said, obviously hurt by what she had asked.

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around him. "Draco, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, I'm just so confused." He was stiff at first, but eventually melted into her embrace.

"It's all right, love. I'm confused as well." He shifted so that they were resting against the head of the bed, the pillows magically propping up behind his back.

"What a wonderful way to start of the school year." She mumbled.

"It's not so bad. You're in my House." He said, stroking her hair.

"Yes, and it looks like I'm going to be sleeping in your room the first night that I'm here, rather with my dorm mates who are apparently terrified of me. I overheard one of them saying that they were afraid I might curse them in their sleep."

Draco chuckled and pulled her tighter against him. "They must think Americans are evil."

"Well, it's not like I went to a dark magic school. It was the American equivalent of Hogwarts." She burrowed deeper into his chest.

"I know, and I know that you can prove that to them. It'll just take time. Slytherins are hard to break."

Elizabeth sighed, and muttered a spell that put Draco and her in their pajamas, and the covers were wrapped around them.

"Now that's a convenient spell." Draco said thoughtfully.

Elizabeth smiled and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek before she laid down once again, closing her eyes. "I have some to teach you, too, Draco."

The next morning at breakfast, Harry looked up to see Elizabeth and Malfoy walking into the Great Hall together. He again felt that odd feeling, and quickly looked back down at his plate.

"She was in Malfoy's room last night after dinner." Hermione said, obviously having noticed what he was looking at. "She was in there this morning too."

Harry looked up at her. "Did she sleep there?"

"That's what I assumed." Hermione said. "I didn't hear anything though."

"I thought there was a common room between your rooms." Ron said, his mouth full.

"There is, but I was up late reviewing for classes this morning." Harry bit back a smile, and Ron rolled his eyes.

"Potter, Granger, Weasley, your schedules." Professor McGonogall handed each of them their schedules, and they bent their heads together to compare.

"Looks like we have one free period all together, and you and Ron have one together. Harry, you have one by yourself before potions." Hermione said after reading each of their schedules.

"Is that when you lot are taking Defense?" Harry asked. He had progressed to Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts, an independent study with the professor, for his seventh year, while Ron and Hermione stayed in the regular NEWT level. Harry had been afraid that his two friends would feel resentment towards him, but so far they had assured him that it wouldn't be a problem and wouldn't hurt their friendship. But now that they both had class when he had a free period, he wasn't so sure they would feel the same way.

"Yeah, don't worry about it Harry." After nearly seven years of friendship, Ron could obviously read his mind.

"Yes, Harry. It's fine. You'll have extra time to do your homework." Hermione smiled at him and Harry couldn't help but roll is eyes. Yes, things would certainly be the same from then on.

Their first class of the day was Herbology, and then Harry and Ron had a free period while Hermione had Arithmancy. They then met up for lunch.

Once the meal was finished, Hermione and Ron made their way to DADA, while Harry started towards Gryffindor tower.

He was walking down a hallway towards one of the many secret passages that made it quick and easy to get to Gryffindor tower, when he ran headlong into someone.

"I'm sorry!" They both said in unison.

Harry looked down at the person that was held in his arms and laughed.

"We seem to run in to each other a lot." Elizabeth Riddle said, laughing also.

"Yes, we do." Harry said, righting her and putting his school bag back onto his shoulder.

"Do you have a free period now?" She asked.

"Yeah, I do." He said, and there was an awkward silence.

"Oh, well I do too," Elizabeth said. "Would you like to study for a bit, seeing as I don't know anyone who has this period free, but you do and… Wow I'm rambling aren't I?"

Harry smiled at her, realizing she was also nervous. "Yeah, sure. I know a place that's close. He led the way to an empty classroom just a few doors down. He opened the door and allowed her to enter ahead of him. There was a couch and a large desk to one side, and the rest of the room had smaller desks meant for students.

"Are there a lot of these rooms?" Elizabeth asked, taking her robes off and draping them over one of the desks.

"A few, you just have to know where they are." Harry said mischievously and also took his robes off. "Hot day, isn't it?"

"For England, I guess. I'm used to it being like this almost all year round." She sat down on the couch and he sat down next to her.

"That's nice. It gets awfully cold here. Snows a lot." Harry said, and wanted to hit himself for being so nervous.

She smiled at him, and said "I lived here for about eleven years before I went to America."

"Why did you go to America then, and not go to Hogwarts?"

"I lived with the Malfoys, and when Draco's Hogwarts letter came, I didn't have one. Lucius told me that my parents had wanted me to go to America for school. He never explained why though."

"Why did you live with the Malfoys?" Harry asked and then said quickly, "You don't have to answer, if it's a personal question."

"Well, I wish I could give you a good answer, but I don't have one. My parents died, or at least I assume it was both of them, when I was barely one."

"Mine too!" Harry said quickly. "But you probably already know that." He said, looking away.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, everyone seems to know the story of 'The-Boy-Who-Lived."

"Truth?" She asked, looking right at him, and he nodded. "I had no idea who you were before it was explained to me yesterday."

Harry looked at her, shocked. It wasn't just that she didn't know who he was, but the way that she had said it with candid honesty. "Really?"

"Really. You're not famous in America." She said, smiling slightly. "I really don't understand why you're famous for it though. I mean I get that you 'defeated' the most evil wizard of all time, but you lost your family in the process. That's not something people should be happy about."

Harry looked at her, not quite sure how to respond. Elizabeth had just voiced what he had been feeling since he had found out how his parents had died. "It's taken some of my friends six years to understand that, and some still don't. How did you do it?"

She half smiled. "I don't know, I guess I can kind of relate. I mean I'm not famous by any means, but as far as I know, my parents were killed in a similar situation."

"As far as you know?" Harry asked. He didn't feel that it was the best time to mention what he knew about her father, or whom he assumed to be her father. He knew that he might regret it later, but right now he felt it was for the best.

"Yes, the Malfoy's never really told me anything about my family. It was how my parents had wanted it supposedly."

"So we really do have more in common than I thought." Harry scooted closer to her on the couch unconsciously.

"Yeah, we do." She looked up at him; he was now sitting next to her, close enough that their legs were touching. "Harry…" Harry silenced her by placing a finger on his lips.

"Shh..." He leaned forward and replaced his finger with his lips. At first neither deepened the kiss, but after a moment Elizabeth ran her hands up his chest and into his hair. Harry took this as a sign that he could deepen the kiss, and placed his hand on her neck, running his thumb over her jaw line. Before he knew exactly what was happening, they were laying on the couch, Elizabeth under Harry. Harry's hands were under her shirt, rubbing circles on her back, his knee between her legs. Her uniform skirt had ridden up as she wrapped her leg around the back of his.

Elizabeth broke apart after what felt like hours of their fevered kissing, and looked up at Harry. Her eyes were slightly hooded, her lips red and swollen. Harry noticed with a stifled chuckle that some of her lip gloss had smeared down her chin, and he vaguely wondered what his own mouth looked like.

Harry looked at her for a moment, and leaned down to kiss her again. "Harry. What are we doing?" She whispered, stopping him.

It all came rushing back to Harry; his fight with Ginny, the confrontation with Ron, and now the conversation that he had had with Elizabeth before they had started kissing.

"I just met you."

Harry sat up suddenly. "Yeah… I'm sorry. I usually don't do things like this! And I have a girlfriend!"

Elizabeth untangled herself from Harry. "You do?"

"Yeah, I do. We had a row though." He said, trying to make eye contact but she was successfully avoiding looking at him.

"I want this, but I can't let you do that to her." Elizabeth stood and began to straighten out her clothing.

"I want this too, which is what scares me." Harry buried his head in his hands and let out a deep shuddering sigh. "We should get to potions."

"Yeah… We should." She fastened her school robes around her neck. "I'm sorry, Harry."

"For what?" Harry stood up also and looked at her, shocked by her apology.

"For letting you think that was what you wanted. I… I don't want to come between you and your friends." She said softly.

"Elizabeth, I don't want you to think that this is your fault. I wanted this just as much as you did." Harry ran his fingers across her cheek, and she leaned slightly into his touch. "If I didn't, I wouldn't have let it happen. I just get so nervous when I'm around you…. And it felt like it was the right thing to do… I can't explain it."

"Harry, for my sanity as much as yours, we can't do this if you're still with her. And that's only the first reason why this wouldn't work out right now."

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused.

"There are many things that would prevent us from being together. Our friends, houses, lives." She pushed his hair back from his face. "But the biggest thing right now is your girlfriend. I don't want to make enemies and I don't want you to ruin your friendships. Breaking up with her could be a life altering thing. I don't want you to make the decision just after one make out session that was very good."

Harry smiled, "it was quite good, wasn't it?"

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist. "We're just friends, at least for now. Think about what you really want, and in the meantime, we'll get to know each other better."

Harry wrapped his arms tighter around her and buried his head in her hair, taking in her scent. After a few moments he pulled away and took her hand, "let's get to class."

They exited the room and made their way down to the dungeons for their double potions lesson.

"Potter, Riddle, you're late." Snape said snidely as Harry and Elizabeth made their way into the Potions classroom, and made their way to their respective seats; Elizabeth with the Slytherins and Harry with Ron and Hermione.

"Sorry Professor." They both said.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, and detention." Harry rolled his eyes as he began to copy down the notes from the board.

After a few moments, Harry looked up and noticed that Hermione was staring intently at him. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Harry," She said leaning over to whisper into his ear, making sure no one else could year her. "You have a bit of lip gloss smeared down your chin."

Harry jumped and wiped furiously at his lips and chin, and felt his face burn with embarrassment. Hermione turned back to her cauldron, where having already finished copying the notes down had started her own potion.

Ron looked between the two of them, a confused expression on his face. "What? What did I miss?"

Before Harry could answer, Snape barked from behind them, "Weasley, Potter, get started on your potion, the rest of the class is already five steps ahead of you. And ten more points each from Gryffindor for laziness."

Harry and Ron looked around and saw that the rest of the class had indeed already started their potions and were quite a few steps into it.

As Harry looked back at the Slytherin table, he made eye contact with Elizabeth, who was sitting between Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. She smiled at him and he smiled back. Neither of them noticed the glare that Pansy had shot at both of them.

"Potter, Riddle, don't leave quite yet." Snape said as the class packed up their things at the end of the lesson.

Harry exchanged a look with Hermione and Ron as they went to leave the classroom, both of them shooting him sympathetic glances.

Elizabeth and Harry approached Snape's desk.

"You both will be serving detention tonight, seven o'clock sharp. Don't be late." Snape said sharply and both Elizabeth and Harry nodded, turned and walked out the door together.

"I'm so sorry for this, I'm sure you had plenty of things to do." Elizabeth said once they were out of the classroom and in the hallway leading from the dungeons. "If I had known we would be late…" She trailed off.

"Don't worry about it. Detention with Snape is nothing new to me." Harry said and smiled as Elizabeth chuckled.

"Yes, I'm sure it will begin to be something I'll get used to also."

They rounded a corner and stopped short as Pansy Parkinson stepped out from behind a statue. 

"Pansy, what are you doing?" Elizabeth asked.

"Waiting for you. I didn't realize you'd be with _him._" Pansy said, shooting a death glare at Harry. 

"Parkinson, I suggest you get out of our way and let us through." Harry said harshly.

"O, what are you going to do about it, Potter? Threaten me?" Pansy sneered.

Harry looked into her eyes, and saw that they weren't quite right. There was an evil glint to them, and a slightly maniacal expression crossed her features. 

"You couldn't be happy with just Draco, could you? Had to go and shag the boy who lived too?" Pansy shot at Elizabeth, whose face remained expressionless.

"You're wrong, Pansy." Elizabeth said in a deadly voice. "There's nothing between me and Draco."

"Sure, and that's why you spend the night in his private rooms?" Pansy all but shouted.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Pansy." Elizabeth's eyes flashed with anger.

Pansy drew her wand and pointed it at Elizabeth. "You're a filthy whore, Elizabeth Riddle. And you don't deserve Draco."

Pansy began to shout an incantation that Harry didn't recognize, and he immediately sprung into action. He drew his wand and shouted a blocking spell, but the incantation passed through it and hit both him and Elizabeth, making them fly backwards.

The next thing Harry knew, he was slammed into a wall. His head slammed into the wall, the pain producing white lights in front of his eyes. He slid down the wall and landed in a heap on the floor.

Once the pain had ebbed slightly Harry sat up a little bit and looked around him. Elizabeth was a few feet away from him, in a similar position. She moaned and sat up as well.

"What happened?" She asked groggily.

"I'm not sure. Pansy hit us with some sort of spell." Harry stood up and staggered towards her. He kneeled down in front of her and noticed her eyes looked slightly far away. "Are you ok?"

"I don't know," she reached behind her head. She drew her hand back and Harry was terrified to see that it was covered in blood. She looked at him with wide eyes and promptly collapsed into his arms.

Harry yelled for help and heard footsteps pounding down the hall. He looked up and was shocked to see that he was basically looking into a mirror, except for the eyes.

"Sirius! Get over here!" The boy that was Harry but not Harry yelled. Another set of footsteps came running down the hall and all but screeched to a halt.

Harry looked up at the boys with wide eyes, "James Potter? Sirius Black?" He said, and promptly blacked out.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Harry opened his eyes and quickly closed them again, wincing at the pain the bright light caused him. He groaned and brought his hand up to cover his eyes, and tried opening them once again. This time the light was bearable.

"Ah, you're waking up."

Harry looked to his right and saw a familiar face. "Professor," Harry smiled.

"You seem to know me, but I'm afraid I do not know you." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he smiled at Harry curiously.

"What?" Harry asked, and soon it all came flooding back to him; Pansy cursing him and Elizabeth, seeing his father and Sirius, Elizabeth and the blood.

Harry sat up fully, and looked around frantically. His eyes landed on Elizabeth a few beds away from him. She was almost as white as the sheets she was resting upon.

Harry looked to Dumbledore who smiled softly at him. "Madame Pomfrey gave her a sleep potion. She received a severe head wound."

"Will she be all right? Once she wakes up I mean?"

"Yes, she should be fine," Harry relaxed back against the bed. He wasn't exactly sure why he was so worried. He was concerned about her, and it wasn't just because he was there with her when he was injured. "But, I do believe I have some questions for you Mr…"

"Potter, Harry Potter." Harry decided quickly that if he and Elizabeth were to have any chance of getting back to their own time, he would have to be honest with Dumbledore.

"Any relation to James Potter?"

"Yes, sir. He's my father."

Dumbledore didn't look at all surprised. "Ah, so you and Ms.-"

"Riddle."

"Ms. Riddle are from the future then. Is Ms. Riddle of any relation to Tom Riddle by chance?"

"She could very well be, sir. She mentioned to me that as far as she knew her parents were killed when she was a year old. She hasn't made it clear to me that she knows who her father is."

"You know of Tom Riddle then?" Dumbledore's eyes were dull and deeply saddened as he spoke of Riddle.

"More than I'd like to, sir."

"Well, Mr. Potter, please don't tell me any more of the future. Our current focus is how you got here, and how you are going to get back to your own time. Do you recall exactly what happened to land you here?"

"Elizabeth and I were walking together in the dungeons when a fellow student went to curse Elizabeth. I said a shielding charm, but the spell passed through and we were thrown backwards. The next thing I knew we were in this time."

"Ah… I do believe I have an idea of what curses it could have been, but I'm going to have to look into them. Until then, I do believe that you're going to have to continue your schooling here." Dumbledore smiled.

"Yes sir." Harry said, feeling nervous and excited; he would finally get a chance to know his parents.

"What year were you in school, Mr. Potter?"

"Elizabeth and I were both in our seventh year."

"And your houses?"

"Gryffindor-" Harry started.

"And I was in Slytherin, sir. I'd prefer to be resorted though." Elizabeth said from her bed.

Harry sat up and rose from his bed to go to her side. "Elizabeth, are you all right?"

She smiled at him as she moved over so he could sit on the edge of her bed. "I feel fine, Harry." Harry grasped her hand, and she entwined her fingers in his.

She looked to Dumbledore, "Professor, is there anyway I could stay with Harry? As we are from the future, together, I think it would be much easier for us if we were to stay together."

Dumbledore smiled. "I think that would be possible, Ms. Riddle."

"Thank you, sir."

"Mr. Potter," Harry turned towards Dumbledore, but didn't leave Elizabeth's side. "I don't think you can be called Potter, I do believe that would give away too much of the future."

"Yes, sir. What do you propose?" Harry rubbed his thumb over Elizabeth's knuckles.

"Perhaps change your last name? To White, maybe?"

Harry laughed lightly. "That sounds fine Professor. And we'll both be in Gryffindor?"

"I don't see why not. There is only one seventh year girl in Gryffindor, and she's Head Girl this year, so Elizabeth would have the room to herself." Dumbledore smiled at Elizabeth.

"And my name, sir? Are my parents in this time?" She asked anxiously.

"I'm afraid, Ms. Riddle, that they are not. It might be safer to change it though. Turner sound all right?"

"Yes, sir, that sounds fine." Elizabeth looked slightly disappointed but smiled up at Harry.

"Well, it is almost dinner, so I shall leave you two be. Elizabeth, Madame Pomfrey would like you to stay another day in the infirmary. Your injury was severe, and she thinks it would be best." He added as Elizabeth started to protest. "I'll allow Harry to stay with you for the night, and then tomorrow at breakfast I shall introduce you."

"Thank you, Professor."

"Now, I do believe that there are a few people waiting outside to meet you, formally this time."

Harry smiled and looked to Elizabeth. "Do you feel up to visitors?"

"Sure." She smiled at him and then at Dumbledore.

"I'll let them know they may come in." Dumbledore turned and walked out of the room.

"It's my dad, and my god father." Harry said excitedly to Elizabeth once they were alone in the room.

She smiled up at him, "that's wonderful Harry. I'm excited to meet them." She leaned back against her bed again.

Harry propped the pillows up behind her head to help make her comfortable and she smiled at him. "Harry, I want you to know that this doesn't change anything. We may be in a different time, but you still have a girlfriend." She added at his questioning expression.

Before he could respond the doors opened and five people burst into the room.

A/N: This chapter was considerably shorter than the other chapters, but I wanted to get something up, seeing as it had been a while. Would you guys rather have short chapters updated more frequently (can't promise how frequently, but I'm graduating soon so it'll get faster and faster) or longer chapters less frequently?? Let me know and I'll do what you guys want! Thanks so much for the support the last chapter. It means a lot!

Next chapter: Harry and Elizabeth meet the Marauders + 1 and craziness insues, a relationship begins to develop, and we get a look into the future, where another relationship is beginning there as well!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Hello!" A tall boy with long black hair bellowed as he took long strides across the room that ended at Elizabeth's bedside. 

"Sirius Black, do not yell in my hospital wing! I'll have to remove you if you can't respect my rules!" Madame Pomfrey said from her office door. She hurried over to Elizabeth's bedside. "How are you feeling dear?"

"I'm feeling fine, just a little dizzy." Elizabeth said.

"Yes, that is to be expected. Now, visitors only for ten minutes, then these two need their rest, especially you, dear."

"Yes Madame Pomfrey," rang a chorus of voices from around the room.

"Good, now I'll leave you to yourselves, and I'll be back in ten minutes, no more than that!" She said and once again disappeared into her office.

After a moment of silence, a red headed girl stepped forward and held her hand out to Elizabeth. "I'm Lily Evans, Head Girl. It's very nice to meet you."

"I'm Elizabeth Ri-Turner. Elizabeth Turner. It's very nice to meet you."

"I'm Sirius," he held his hand out for her to shake, and as she grasped it he moved it to his lips. "Anything you could possibly need, anything at all, I'm here, love."

Elizabeth smiled slightly and nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

"I'm James Potter." Harry and James made eye contact, and silence descended on the room; it appeared no one had noticed Harry before. Now that they had, everyone was shocked at how similar he and James looked.

"Moony, is it just me or am I seeing double?" Sirius stepped next to a skinny boy with light brown hair.

"I don't think it's just you, Sirius." The boy said.

James and Harry stood starring at each other

"I'm Harry White." Harry said softly, his eyes not leaving James's face.

"And I'm Sirius Black! We match mate!"

Lily rolled her eyes, and looked back at Harry. "You look awfully similar to James, Harry." Lily's eyes locked on Harry's identical ones.

Elizabeth sensed the need to step in. "It's a strange coincidence isn't it?" She laughed nervously. "And who are you two?" She gestured to the boy Sirius was standing next to and the last boy.

"I'm Remus Lupin, and this is Peter Pettigrew." Remus introduced himself and the very round boy, who raised his hand and waved shyly.

Elizabeth looked up at Harry, whose eyes had left James and was now glaring at Peter. She reached up and took his hand, gently tugging. He looked down at her and his eyes softened. She smiled slightly.

"Where are you two from?" Remus asked, and Harry and Elizabeth abruptly looked away from each other.

"America, we're both from America. Harry was originally in England but decided to go to school in America for a few years, and now he's back. I just came with him." Elizabeth said after a slight pause. They hadn't exactly rehearsed this part with Dumbledore.

"I see. And what year are you in?" Remus said, although he didn't seem satisfied with Elizabeth's answer.

"We're in seventh year, both in Gryffindor." Harry spoke up.

"We're all in Gryffindor as well!" Sirius exclaimed and Lily rolled her eyes again.

"Well, I guess that means we'll be seeing you all around quite a bit then." Elizabeth smiled.

"When you both are released from this prison, we'd all love to show you around a bit and help you get to know the place better." James said.

"That would be wonderful, thank you." Elizabeth said, and before she could say anything else, Madam Pomfrey bustled into the room and shooed the five visitors out.

Harry sat down heavily on Elizabeth's bed once everyone had left. "That was overwhelming."

Elizabeth scooted over a little more and Harry climbed up into the bed with her. "So those were your parents?" She asked quietly.

"Yep, Sirius is also my Godfather." Harry rolled on this side and propped his head on his hand.

"It's wonderful that you're going to get to know them." Elizabeth looked up at him.

"It is," Harry paused. "I'm sorry that your parents aren't here."

"It's fine, really. It's probably better this way." Harry didn't say anything to this because he didn't want to have to agree with her. "Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Is it strange that I feel so comfortable with you after I have only known you for a few days?" She stared at him with unguarded eyes.

"Is it strange that I feel the same way?" He whispered and leaned down to kiss her.

Elizabeth moved away abruptly. "Even though we are twenty years in the past, you still have a girlfriend, Harry."

Harry smiled sadly. "Is it any comfort to know that after our talk I was going to break up with her?"

Elizabeth sat up in the bed. "Actually it's not. I told you not to make a rash decision."

"I thought about it a lot, and I decided that it wasn't working between me and her anyway, regardless of if you had come into the picture." Harry sat up as well.

"You thought about it in the whole two hours after it happened?" She raised her eyebrows and smirked slightly at him.

"Yes, and I thought about it hard." 

"Obviously." Elizabeth said sarcastically. "But, I still think we should wait until you've officially broken it off with her. I don't want to come in between your friendships."

"So you've said." Harry leaned down and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Until then, we'll pretend like nothing happened." He got up and returned to his own hospital bed.

"Yes, we will." Elizabeth said softly, and laid back against her pillows, and promptly fell asleep.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, and sorry for the short chapter. This has actually been done for a while, but hey… I've been busy with work! I'm hard at work on Chapter five though, so never fear!! Thanks to my wonderful beta, theharrypotterlover!!


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